1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pouches, and more particularly, to a packaging machine for forming, filling and sealing three-sided, flexible pouches, and a method of making the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Because of the technical advances in film pouch forming, filling and sealing machines, more and more food and other products, are being packaged in flexible film pouches for ease in shipping, handling and dispensing, or for sale, as well as for health and sanitary reasons. Known form, fill and seal pouch forming machines are usually referred to as horizontal or vertical machines, and form pouches of various configurations utilizing one or more continuous webs of heat-sealable plastic film, taken off of rolls. The plastic film can also be provided with other layers of material, as needed or required. The finished pouches from such machines are generally sealed on four sides, after being formed in continuous streams from the roll or rolls of film, filled with a product, sealed, and then cut off in a continuous process.
The known machines also include packaging machines which form a single stream of three-sided pouches, and in particular, machines which form such single stream of pouches vertically, i.e., in which the material from which the pouches being are formed, filled and sealed travels from the top of the machine down toward the bottom thereof.
Known machines for forming three-sided packages or pouches include a former, generally made from sheet metal or other easily bendable material. The former takes the material, which is unwound from a supply roller, and folds the same into a tubular configuration around a mandrel and/or a pouch filling tube. A lap seal is then formed between the overlapping ends of the formed tubular material. The formed tubular material is then indexed through the machine, so as to first form a bottom cross seal, then to fill a partially formed package with material, and to then form a top seal, and to finally cut off the finally formed package or pouch. Sometimes, in an attempt to avoid the expense of shipping too much material, after some of the seals are formed on a pouch, the seals are trimmed off, to lower the weight thereof.
Examples of known single channel, vertical three-sided sealed pouch packaging machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,482,373, 3,861,121, 4,117,647, 4,485,613, 4,676,051, 4,947,621, 4,964,263 and 5,231,817.
An example of a machines which forms four-sided pouches, but which utilizes formers to form tubular preforms for filling sealed thermoplastic bags with a fragile, low-density product, such as potato chips, corn chips, tortilla chips, etc., is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,794. In this machine, one or two continuous thermal plastic sheets of material are unrolled from rollers and advanced and formed into a plurality of vertical, tubular, preforms having vertical side seals on opposing sides thereof. The side seals are then cut and formed with bottom seals, and filled, provided with a top seal and cut off, as disclosed therein.
Still other machines, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,256,673 and 4,552,613, disclose a machine which forms two channels or streams of three-sided pouch packages, from two, side-by-side tube shaping devices. In these machines however, each channel or stream of pouches being formed is formed separately from the other, with identical formers, sealing mechanisms and cut-off mechanisms thereon.
Although existing packaging machines work well, they have numerous drawbacks and/or problems, such as the need for duplication of complex components and elements, and when forming three-sided packages or pouches, are incapable of quickly and simultaneously forming such pouches in a multichannel machine.
Furthermore, in today's highly competitive business environment, there is a constant need to lower costs and reduce materials usage, as well as the need for saving energy and the forming of pouches with more appealing, eye-catching appearances. Therefore, packages or pouches with only three sealed side edges are in demand, since they provide savings in energy and material, by, inter alia, decreasing the need to form a fourth sealed side. Additionally, three-sided pouches enable front and back graphics to be printed on the pouches and across the unsealed side, and to be more easily maintained in registration in the machine.
Therefore, there exists a need in the package and dispensing art for a machine and method for making a plurality of channels of three-side sealed pouches in a fast, economical and efficient manner, and which overcomes the known problems, while offering cost and energy savings over and above those known from prior art machines.